Fugakyu
Categories: Sushi Bars, Japanese [Edit]
Neighborhood: Coolidge Corner1280 Beacon Street
Brookline, MA 02446 (617) 734-1268
- Nearest Transit:
Coolidge Corner (Green)
- Price Range: $$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: Yes
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
254 Reviews for Fugakyu
Every single roll we ordered was great. Alot of the normal standard rolls and a whole page of special rolls, with cream cheese, fried sweet potato, mayonnaise, avocado and tons of other things. The specials are good, the service is pretty good, and it's a fun sushi place overall. They also have the private rooms with the doors and it's a good size space at 2 stories, so don't worry about a long wait. There were 6 of us, and every single one of us left happy.
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The Geisha waitresses are very nice even though my Boyfriend and I are always the jerks that arrive 10 minutes before the last call.
Fugakyu is that high school best friend everyone had. The one that was always dependable. The one that even though you decided to ditch on several occasions to try new things you always came running back to.
Fugakyu. I like Fugakyu.
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"Irasshaimase!"
The rice is the soul of sushi.
A well-made rice base can go far to spread the reputation of a sushi bar. No Japanese meal would be complete without cooked short-grain rice sweetened with vinegar, which for many Asian cultures defines a proper meal. Fugakyu can properly prepare the flavor of their rice, serving it ever so slightly warm.
The Japanese generally regard subtlety as the height of civilized behavior and culture. And Fugakyu ensured our sushi meal was ritualized by the careful exclusion of extraneous effects, as well as by attention to minutiae. One of their sushi chefs was kind enough to note a true sushi aficionado will never drink alcohol, particularly not rice-based sake, with sushi b/c the rice wine will spoil the flavor of the cooked rice.
Our sushi had a jewel-like quality. Natural colors of our meal were preserved and stabilized. The visual qualities of the ingredients, the blazing colors of autumn in shiny browns, mellow yellows, and dark reds of the raw fish, set against the background of black lacquer, which itself was on a polished off-white pine table, heightened our sensory experience.
Many Japanese restaurants in Boston with Western-style influence rarely feature decorative niches in addition to the main floral arrangement at the entrance. Fuguyaku is a slightly more exclusive gourmet establishment offering traditional tatami-matted ryotei and its bar furnishings echoed the latest in chic furniture design from a European capitol.
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I went to Fugakyu back in 2004, and it's still the best sushi dinner I've ever had. I can't say enough as to how impressed I was with the service and quality of sushi. Being half Japanese myself, I'm somewhat of a critic, and this place just blew me away. The rolls were all large in size and tasted so great, the quality of the ingredients were phenomenal (no, I am not orgasmic now, just excited about this restaurant, that's all). Still to this day I have yet to find a place in Austin (or anywhere) that compares to Fugakyu's, although I did go to Tokyo back in 2001 but can't remember the sushi there (must not have that awesome).
This place was very professional, the ambience was spectacular, and I'm just so pissed that Matt Damon or Ben Affleck aren't friends of mine or else I'd ask them to bring me some of this sushi if we were to get together.
AWESOME!
We told our waitress and the manager we never recieved an item on the bill and asked to have it removed- they told us they checked THE CAMERAS and that we did.
4 of us...all looked around....kind of upset that over a $3 item 4 people at a table were all labeled liars and told we were being filmed while eating. And this was a $175 dinner.
Anyway the real manager sent me a gift card for 150...and apologized...and was humiliated...but still ...people should know about this type of crap...i mean how much more offensive of an experience can you have?
Otherwise Id give 4 stars...its a consistantly good place to get sushi...esp if you order or take it to go. Doesnt touch Sushi in LA though...
Cheers Bawston.
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I'm more of a fan of cozy sushi establishments and this one was so big it felt a little impersonal. That said, the sushi is darn good. We had great service, but it's just SO SO SO SO expensive. Maybe my palette isn't quite refined enough to appreciate this more than I appreciate lil ol' Shogun in West Newton....while I wholeheartedly enjoyed all I ate at Fugakyu I don't think I can justify the prices unless someone else with a fat wallet is treating me :-)
In Boston for a bachelorette party with 10 or more twentysomething girls, we were seeking a venue for a dressed up but relaxing dinner that would include our guest of honor's favorite foods (sushi, steak, and wine) at a place that would be appropriate for our group size. Fugakyu could not have been more perfect. A great way to enjoy an evening over a nice long meal for a special occasion or before heading for a night on the town. I absolutely, positively recommend Fugakyu for a fun, classy, girly night out with a gathering of close friends. We loved every minute of it.
The best part of dining with a larger party is that you'll get your own private room with a distinctly Japanese style, including tables carved into the floor so that it looks like you are sitting on the ground (but really, you are not since your feet still go under the table. Sort of hard to describe, I'm really not doing it justice. Be prepared to be asked to take your shoes off before entering the dining room.) And, of course, the other benefit of a group is you can order a variety of dishes and share - which trust me, you will want to do after taking one overwhelming look at the extensive menu.
We were thrilled with the ambiance and were even more pleasantly surprised when EVERYTHING we ate was fantastic. Tempura, teriyaki, edamame, shumai, the multiple bottles of wine we finished, and especially the huge variety of sushi rolls. A few of my friends with the least adventurous taste buds I know were there, and even they loved it. I was even able to successfully convert a sushi virgin.
A lot of reviewers complained about the portion sizes, and I've got to say that no one at our table left hungry or even slightly disappointed by the amount of food. Each person at our table either ordered one entree or two rolls for their meal, and we shared tastes of each other's dishes. The only appetizers we had were edamame and dumplings, and no one had room for dessert.
If you read my review of Todai in the DC area (mass quantities of mid-quality sushi and hot dishes, with the tacky and flashy anime version of Japanese decor) - Fugakyu is everything that Todai is not. This was my first and only trip to Boston, and as soon as I'm able to make it back, I will be reserving a table at Fugakyu.
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I'll start off by saying that Fugakyu is seriously some of the best sushi I've ever had in Boston. I've been here one other time and everything was fine, but last night was a complete shit show.
We got to Fugakyu and we were immediately seated. As we were sitting down and relaxing, the manager came over and asked us if it was ok if they moved us since a large party was coming in. We were fine with that and moved, and they gave us a free appetizer for the trouble. Great.
As we were sitting, we noticed a hostess come up the stairs with a group of four and look at our table in confusion. They made the other people wait while they figured out what was going on. There was obviously very little communication.
Our server finally came over and took our order. We then waited FORTY MINUTES for our food to come out, and it only came out after we flagged down the manager and asked where our food was. Our meal took an hour and a half from start to finish for three people. It was pretty ridiculous.
If they can't keep their shit together on a Wednesday night, I would hate to see them on a weekend.
I love the atmosphere of this place. It's not the best sushi I've had but they have so many other choices as well. I tend to take people from outside of Boston here if they like Japanese food.
This is truly the best sushi that I've ever had (and I have sampled sushi in London, San Fran, and beyond). You certainly pay for the quality, I recommend going on someone else's dime if you can swing it. The decor is stunning down to the Koi fountain. Be aware that if you try to go on a Friday or Saturday night there will be a substantial wait depending on the size of your party. I recommend checking out one of their girlie drink concoctions in the bar while you wait. When it comes to ordering it's good to have a real sushi snob with you to guide you through the more exotic items on their menu. I am a devotee.
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Overpriced, overhyped. They have a beautiful million-dollar restaurant which is great for a business dinner or to splurge, but the people who take your name up front are like host-nazi's wearing headset radio microphones dressed all in black. They make you feel like there is an "in"-list that you're not on. Supporting this observation is a failed super-deluxe French-Japanese fusion venture of theirs that is no longer upstairs because nobody would pay $70/person for mediocrity.
The main restaurant survives and does have a very comprehensive menu. They have good private traditional rooms for large (12-15-person) groups or small booths with sliding closed doors for smaller (3-4 minimum?) parties.
The food at the center of this mega -plex Japanese is very good, but isn't the "amazingness" that everyone raves about.
Parking is easy at night.
The sushi bar is nice and the wet-bar (in a separate room) is underrated by far with good selection, good bartending, good sports on TV, and trendy but casual tables.
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My friend N, who took me here for dinner, totally downplayed this place, so I wasn't expecting much, but I came out pleasantly surprised.
I am giving it a solid three stars, only because the venue is not fancy (a little misunderstood Asian tacky... you know what I mean!) and definitely not a "fine dining" experience. But having said that, it was very pleasing to find that they actually served close-to-authentic Japanese food... a rarity especially in Boston. I thought you only saw those in the midtown east alleys of Manhattan!
We ordered some rolls as well as a pork ton-katsu and a yaki (we had seafood baked with cheese... very good!). The orders came out in a speedy fashion, and the food was quite good! I wolfed it down. Always good to know one good Japanese restaurant in every city you go!
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If you wanna know how fresh the seafood a Jap Rest has to offer or how good a Sushi chef is, try his/her sashimi. In Brookline, Fugakyu is probably the place to go for good raw seafood.
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Check out this article and see if you would ever eat at Fugakyu again
http://www.wickedlocal...
With SOOO many sushi restaurant options in Brookline. It's a wonder why people would still dine here.
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So I've been here before, but back before I was Yelping... Called and couldnt' get a reservation, but was told that if I just walked in, we could definitely get a table.. doesn't make TOO much sense, but it worked. Of course, we got the worst table around. And couldn't even get a waitress in a kimono. We got some guy. Well, that's no fun!
The sushi is good, but its pricey.. and I just wasn't as excited when i left as I'd hoped I'd be....
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I think you really need to be a devoted Japanese food fan to really enjoy this place. If you're a casual "California Roll and a glass of diet coke" kind of person, you won't really "get" Fugakyu. It's a little nuts. You won't understand why people pay upwards of $35 per person for a normal-sized dinner. And it's totally OK: the devoted bunch sometimes don't get it either.
As far as quality of the sushi, I'd say this is the place to beat. While the prices are a bit steep, they do have rolls that you don't find on every other menu. The variety is better than the surrounding restaurants, and the fish always seems fresh. I usually get take-out, so have never had a problem with the service.
I don't know how I keep on letting myself get dragged to sushi establishments -- I hate sushi. Well, I like California Rolls, Advocado Rolls, and anything that doesn't have raw seafood in it, but according to my friends, that's not "real" sushi.
I have been to Fugakyu more times than I cared to have. I agree with other who say they are overpriced and overhyped. Honestly, I have gotten what I consider yummy California Rolls at the sushi stand in the Mall, and it only costs me $3.50. But, my sushi-loving friends have all raved to me about how "fresh" and "non-fishy" the sushi tastes, as they proceed to shovel that crap into their mouths.
The decor, however, is very VERY nice. I like the two levels, all the faux bamboo, and how the servers are dressed in traditional Japanese garb. Nice touch. Although I'm not sure how those women in the kimonos manage to carry around big soup bowls and tea kettles up and down stairs wearing wooden flip flops.
approximately 5 million years ago I was in Boston visiting friends. It was one of those visits where you are in "Boston" having no regard for square's and town's. We went for sushi and it was really good. Shortly after sushi we ended up at this lesbian run sex shop in brookline? and Ron Jeremy was there promoting prosthetics of his likeness.. needless to say I didn't tell people stories about the "sushi" we had.
5 million years later I realize that this sushi joint was Fugakyu- the sushi place that boston people laud. Hrmph, I try to recall- was it THAT good?
We go there for my late bday dinner. We wait. We drink. We watch as men hit on our friends. I pretend I know more spanish then I really do (should). We get a table. There are children squawking and a dood guy pretty much doing the same...hrmph some birthday dinner. We get our table moved!!! We go to the 3rd floor. Water fountain. Happy middle aged people. And MARK the best server in the universe. Sake, beer's, Sashimi deluxe. Salads w/ avocado. Some blurry desert.
This place is great. Better than Ron Jeremy.
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ok - i've started getting lunch here because it's 5 minutes from my office and oh. crap. the bento boxes are possibly the cutest food i've ever seen/eaten/cooed over. the lunch specials are 8-14 bucks and come with fruit, salad, shu mai and your desired entree. +1 star for you, fugakyu (how the poo does one pronounce that anyway?)
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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03/18/2008
i really looked forward to trying fugakyu because it's often praised among the best in boston. i… Read more »
The food is decent. The decor/ambiance is nice. The food is also overpriced.
Spent a friends birthday here and it was ok, but not spectacular. You definitely can get your own privacy, which is nice, but the portions are pretty small for what you pay for (even for Japanese restaurant standards), and it's just ok.
My thoughts - if you want the ambiance and experience, this is a great place. If you want cheaper food that's still pretty good - go down the street to Jaes.
I wish I could say that I've eaten here a lot, but it was just once and it was on the most horrific date of my life. The sushi was delicious and amazing (and apparently expensive, because at the end of my horrible date his eyes bugged out of his head and he said "Wow, I'm really glad I can expense that meal!-I was not aware that I was a tax deductible expense!)
The fish was fresh and flavorful. Nothing sketchy at all. The presentation is artful and my favorite part-their rolls are big enough to put into your mouth without having to unhinge your jaw (I appreciated big portions of sushi, but don't want to look like I'm auditioning for "Deep Throat" in the middle of a meal).
I did not get to have any of the delicious sounding sake with my meal...when I asked my date if he wanted to order a bottle of sake, he began his tale of woe about how he is a recovering alcoholic. Kudos, man, for staying sober, but um....way to start off a first date.
Anyhoo, Fugakyu is awesome and also makes for an entertaining way to drop the F bomb without actually saying it like you're in 7th grade all over again.
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We had a great father's day dinner here just last night. The sushi was very fresh and delicious. My personal favorite was the jalapeno tuna roll - nice and spicy! I also recommend the caterpillar maki, black widow and sushi/sashimi combo.
One complaint I have about this restaurant is how hot it gets in the enclosed booths. This is a great idea, in theory, but a little claustrophobic for 6 people. Also, the delivery of the food was much faster than the clearing of the table. A bowl of leftover soup spilled twice throughout our dinner and uncleared empty glasses created unnecessary clutter. That being said, I'd definitely go back for the food.
Let me preface this by saying I hate sushi and I don't know what sushi is supposed to taste like...just kidding. This place is awesome. Seared tuna is perfect, sushi is fresh, atmosphere is great.
I have really mixed feelings about this place. I've come here several times, in both large groups and small, as well as on weekdays and weekends. One time I came with a big group for someone's birthday (it was a Wednesday) and the wait was FOREVER. Once we were finally seated, our waiter was not only slow but rather rude (insinuating we wouldn't be interested in some sashimi since it was too "expensive" for us). Dinner took around 3 hours because half the time we were waiting for our incompetent waiter to just show up.
Most of the other times have been so-so though, nothing TOO horrible. I do like the rolls here, as they have a good variety and they're pretty unique. It's annoying that they seem to run out of certain fishes though. They're a sushi restaurant... they should be well-stocked.
Overall, not the best restaurant I've ever been to. The sashimi was fresh enough but certainly not spectacular by any means. Service is blah or sucks ass. But hey, at least there's plenty of street parking in the area as well as valet service in the front.
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My friends took me here to celebrate my 21st birthday. Unfortunately, there were only four of us so we didn't get a tatami room. But it was nice looking at them while we sat nearby.
We were impressed by the menu, but not the prices. But hey, we already knew the prices weren't pretty. Anyway, we ordered a lot of maki rolls, which included natto-maki. Big mistake. It tasted horrible, but I blame it on the fermented beans and not the restaurant.
Three of us ordered rice bowls and shared them. It wasn't extraordinary. Just plain, old rice with chicken, curry, veggies, etc. I prefer the rice bowls in Porter because they're bigger, more meat and veggies than rice, and they're less expensive.
But hey, we had fun eating the maki rolls.
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Every single piece of sushi i've eaten here is fantastic, and they've got a sake menu that rivals most Japanese places in boston. Try the Namazake sake. It's sweet and cloudy, almost creamy. Seating sometimes takes 20 minutes or more , but like anything good, it's worth waiting for. Mondays and Tuesdays are the magical and wonderful sushi boat nights, between 5 and 8. Fugakyu is also one of the few Japanese restaurants in Boston that offers fresh catch and seasonal nigiri choices. If you've never had toro, this is the place to try your first piece.
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This was my first sushi experience in Boston and I have to say it was splendid. Props to my date who recommended it and this being our second date I would say it was an excellent call.
We walked in on a Saturday night to what seemed to be a pretty busy restaurant. I had called earlier in the day but was told no reservations were available at the 7:00ish time we wanted. The man on the phone said we shouldn't have a problem getting in. So after our arrival to Fugakyu we were told that the wait for two would be about 30-40 minutes. Okay, cool. Let's get a drink at the bar.
I wasn't even done paying for our bar drinks when the vibrating pager went off. The only down side was I was forced to take my mojito with me before I even got a sip. But I do enjoy prompt service.
The very polite hostess took us past what looked to be very cool personal booths with sliding paper doors, and then upstairs to a table for two in a more open seating area.
The food was good, the service was great, including the doormen and managers (maybe hosts?) who wished us well on our way out. The prices were pretty moderate for such a nice restaurant and everything was certainly fresh and yummy.
"Would buy from again A++++"
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Just to tell you what a different head space my friends and I were in with the rest of the BC crowd, a group of us would save up money for the entire semester before going here...the night before the Boston Marathon, no less.
I was only there twice, but the place has left quite an impression. Ice-cold Tsingtao and Kirin in frost-flecked tall glasses were great tonics for the wait. The separate booths with the faux-paper-wall interior and wooden benches were a nice touch for some privacy and relatively spacious.
Between the five of us, we downed: miso soup, the sampler platter with just about every roll available that night; chicken and beef skewers, shrimp tempura, what's now called the nigiri combo, and a heaping pile of soba and udon noodles. And of course, the saki. Being college students, we didn't know sake from grain alcohol, just that it kept coming and we kept on drinking.
The service was prompt and cheerful, the presentation sublime and colorful. I just wish I could find a great group to go with and a place like that in Philly.
This is one of the places that I would never initiate going. That is mainly due to the fact that they deliberately not serve fresh fish sometimes.
This weekend, I went there for lunch. It was a bargain. $10 for miso soup, salad that was so little that was better off not served, and sashimi. The salad weighed about 1 oz without the dressing. So why bother!? Profit 5 cents less and look more generous! There were 9 slices of fish. The tuna was icky. It wasn't rotten, but it definitely was sitting around for quite some time.
According to my friend who ate my bowl of rice, the rice was bad.
I've had rotten fish from there before more than one time and refused to step foot in there for a couple yrs.
I never understood why this place is so popular.
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Not bad.. Not bad.. We went there on a tuesday to celelbrate 3 birthdays (mine and couple other friends)!! We were around 10 people, so, we requested their private room.. That was nice.. We were left to ourselves for the most part..
For the food part, we got some Sake (cold), seaweed salad and Miso soup for appetizers.. The Miso soup was really good.. The salad was OK... No great shakes.. and the Sake was also OK..
Then for our main course, I ordered theri pineapple and fried swee potato maki roll and it was surprisingly tasty.. Just the right amount of tangyness from the pineapple and crunch from the sweet potato and ofcourse the pickled ginger and soy sauce provided the "sushi" taste to it..
Some people also ordered a "Sushi/Sashimi" boat, which wasn't bad either..
Their service was nice.. They seated us as soon as our party got there even though we were a few minutes late.. When some of us in the party got their early, we were offered some hot tea while we waited for the rest of our friends.. That was a really nice touch.. There is also a huge bar area with nice couches and all to wait in..
Would I go there again? Sure.. Like I said, we were there on a tuesday, so parking wasn't really a problem.. I could see it becoming an issue on fridays and saturdays..
Like all Sushi places, it was on the expensive side, but, I didn't care.. It was my birthday, so I wasn't paying ;-)...
I am going to keep this one short since I agree with most of the reviews here.
The food is indeed pretty good but not mind blowing.Since freshness for sushi its very important, i definitely give it 5 stars for freshness but it is also horribly overpriced. My friend thinks this is the best place for sushi but I think places like Shino express on newbury can deliver good sushi at affordable prices.
I like going to the main store for a special night out, but be willing to spend please.
We did order in last week and we had one sushi don and one noodle soup dish. Inclusive of tip was about $55. ?? seriously? I am willing to pay for atmosphere and all that, but hate to pay so much for a delivery...
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We arrived with reservations for about 20 for my friend's birthday, so we got that special function room. I believe if you come with such a large crowd, you'll have no choice but to be seated in this room, unless you don't mind separate tables. My opinion of this room? It sucks.
How can I describe this experience... If people were to walk by and look into the room, it would look as if we're sitting on the floor (like traditional Japanese dining). I suppose that's pretty cool. But in actuality, we're not. Underneath the table, there's actually a recessed area in the ground where we put our legs. Wait. What's that smell? Ah that's right. It's the odor of everybody's exposed socks. That's because before entering this room, you're required to take your shoes off. Aside from having to adapt to the odor, it's terribly difficult to get in and out of your seat as it requires squatting and twisting around to get yourself properly seated.
Onto the service. We start off with our drink order. Most of us order the Large Sapporos, and some mixed drinks here and there. 15 minutes later, we got our drinks. I suppose it's understandable since we have such a large crowd and they wanted to bring everything all at once, but it really wasn't a complex order. Thereafter, any extra drinks came arrived fairly promptly.
The food? Nothing really spectacular. My opinion is like every other Yelper here, I've had better elsewhere. I ordered myself the Sake-don (Salmon sashimi over a bed of rice). I tried other peoples' makis and there were merely so so as well. I did particularly enjoy the wasabi as it had a nice kick to it.
The waitresses were wearing kimonos. The only other Japanese place I've been to where the waitresses wore kimonos was Sake in Saugus, MA. I thought it was pretty cool on first impression back then. But coming across it now, I don't really even think about it.
Finally, the prices. The cost is more than usual. Why? Maybe it's cause Fugakyu is located on Coolidge Corner? But I can't say the service, atmosphere, or food is any reason to justify the prices. By no means is the place really upscale as everybody does come wearing casual wear.
Will I come back, probably not unless on special occasion.
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I enjoy sushi restaurants that are small and intimate... I appreciate a hole in the wall that serves art as food. Unfortunately, Fugakyu didn't do it for me.
The restaurant attempts to imitate an authentic Japanese dining experience, but seriously? Places like this are the Orlando of ethnic restaurants... fake. The servers are made to wear Japanese "outfits". I was not impressed, and probably wouldn't have come in if not for my friend who adores the place.
The edamame were yummy (when are they not?), but my chicken miso soba noodles were only a 5.5 on a scale from 1 to 10, bland. The rolls I sampled were good but also a tad bland.
Nothing that memorable and overly gimmicky, in my opinion--I tried, I really did, but I can't pretend to love it.
2 stars for decoration, 2 stars for taste, 1 star for value, 0 stars for the 5 gallon pond with 33 live carp, 2.5 stars for the faux bamboo.
Fugakyu is to Japanese culture and decor as Border Cafe is to Mexico's. Only at Border Cafe, they don't force the employees to wear ponchos...
Ever since my wonderful experience at Oishii Chestnut Hill, I've been craving more sushi, so tonight I went out alone to Fugakyu. I'm really not picky when it comes to decor and service, so I was surprised when I came out of the whole experience so dissatisfied.
It started when I came in. There were 4 (count 'em 4!) bluetooth-sporting hosts milling around the host stand. Three chatted with each other while a fourth stood by. I walked up and stood there, not knowing who to address (the women chatting directly in front of the computer? The man staring vacantly at me but not asking me how many people?) Eventually I wrestled host number 4's attention and asked for a table for one. "Sushi bar OK?" he asked, starting to lead me without waiting for a reply. Well I wanted a bit more of a quiet experience and asked if he wouldn't mind seating me at a table. You wouldn't believe the death glare this guy shot me! (He almost put mine to shame. Almost.) That was sign numero uno of the awful robotic service other people have bemoaned.
I was wordlessly led upstairs. The host pointed to a table and left. My waiter came quickly, placed a menu on the table, asked "Just one?", and when I said yes, removed a place setting and vanished. I spent a little while perusing the menu and decided on salmon, tuna, and inari nigiri. My waiter came over, spoke only long enough to read back my order, and left again. It probably didn't help my vibe about the atmosphere that there was a creep ogling me from a couple tables away, but I soon got frustrated with the themey-ness. In particular, I found it uncomfortable that while the male employees dress in button down shirts and slacks, the women wear geisha costumes and act extremely servile. With the exception of two hostesses, every female employee I saw was wearing robes. Are they allowed to wear pants? Or is it a condition of being hired that you must wear a geisha kimono?
My plate was delivered so quickly and mechanically, by the time I looked up my waiter was gone. The fish was very good, although the tuna didn't have the beautiful red color it did at Oishii. The inari were fine as well, although I've had better. I do have to give them credit for amazingly pungent wasabi.
My last problem was that after I was finished eating, I spent a very uncomfortable ten minutes being visually undressed by the guy at the other table before my waiter showed up to ask if I was ready for the check. Oh, and the check? Eighteen dollars and twelve cents for 6 pieces of sushi and a green tea. People make lots of jokes about the not-so-subtle phonetics of the restaurant's name, but that really does seem to be their customer service policy.
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Maybe I am giving this place 4 stars simply due to the hype prior to going so I thought it would be the "best sushi ever"! I have to say it was not the best I have ever had, but it was good. Some things better than others but I did really like the following things on their sushi menu..SPIDER MAKI, SPICY YELLOWTAIL MAKI were outstanding...I still think Yama and Ponzu are better than this place...definitely overrated!
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I have been here 4 times now. Three times = great sushi. One time = just mediocre sushi. In all cases, the service was great. Definitely no service problem for me whether I am here at 1 pm or 9 pm. There is something about this place that will keep me coming back. Maybe the location helps or maybe it is the expansive nature of this restaurant. Could just be the service and food. Pretty safe bet with a good chance of being excellent
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Feels too 'ROUTE 1: SAUGUS' for me.
Know what I mean?
...parking attendants, pager-buzzers for your wait, novelty sushi boats, carp pond, big screen TV, girls dressed as geishas and a 5 minute wait to get 'confirmation' to be allowed to move to different seats by the bluetoothed seat-assigner.
"hey, if we have to wait 5 mins to be given new seats, how about you make them 5 mins up the road at Nori or Gari?"
YES: the sushi/sashimi is good quality and generously dished out in portions Steve N's girlfriend would gag at - but you'd expect better for such high prices.
Want to try and persuade me to add more stars? Try these....
1. Serve fresh oysters in the shells so I know they are fresh.
2. Thai waitresses wearing geisha outfits feels a little too 'sex tourism'
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Yummy -- My first stop when I'm craving sushi.
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Every time I've been here, the sushi has been very fresh and very intricately presented. The atmosphere is sleek and modern, and the wait is not too bad. I've tried some non-sushi dishes but those were a bit too exotic for me, so I always stick with either one of the sushi boats or some individual sushi. The sushi bar is fun, one of those where samples of sushi go by you on little boats and you get to pick which one you want. Whenever I go to other sushi restaurants, I always compare them to this place.
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